The Beginning of the End
by queeninferno
Summary: After a crazed drama-filled third year, Arthur is ready to end his reign at Albion just right. But what is right when you don't know what happens next? Arthur has two choices: Live the life his father has planned for him since birth or pursue his own creative passions? In this evocative sequel, Arthur and his friends will have to face their futures... and the ghosts of their pasts.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello darlings, I'm back =) I apologize for taking such a long break but senior year is crazy... but now I'm going to my dream school! I promised you a sequel, and now here is the first chapter. Enjoy =) -S.L._

* * *

"Brilliant," Arthur muttered under his breath.

His eyes traced up and over his school that resembled an old gothic cathedral. It was a stunning building, in a regal and terrifying way. Albion's courtyard was swarming with students as usual, all done up in their nicely pressed uniforms and fresh polished shoes that gleamed under the morning sun. Arthur locked his car door and made his way over, searching through the crowd for a familiar face.

Arthur endured the friendly claps on his back as he pushed forward. He spotted Leon first, laughing with Gwaine by their usual corner.

"Lads." Both boys looked up in unison. Arthur let out a giddy laugh as they moved to flank him, shoving Arthur between them playfully just like old times.

"Pendragon! How was your summer?" Gwaine asked. Arthur thought about his art classes, how it challenged him and sharpened his technique. Arthur wanted to tell them how he found himself lately looking at everything in a different light, that there was rhythm and symmetry in the simplest things. He decided against it and flashed Gwaine a cheeky smile.

"Not long enough. How was Paris?" Arthur inquired. Gwaine surprised him with a careless shrug.

"I have to admit, it's not the best feeling in the world to get your heart broken in the city of love." Arthur clasped a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out, mate."

"It's alright," Gwaine reassured. "I tried monogamy but it really wasn't for me. You know, I once made a promise to myself that I'd shag every fit girl in this school and I intend to keep it." Leon shook his head, incredulous.

"You're wicked man," he said with a look of admiration thinly veiled by disgust. Gwaine ignored the comment, wiggling his eyebrows at a group of first years walking by. They rolled their eyes pretending to dismiss him, but their flushed cheeks revealed otherwise.

"I see Gwaine is back to his old self." Arthur hadn't noticed Percival approach them. His large friend looked tan, and a soft patch of gold hair coated his chin. He grinned and pulled Arthur in for a tight hug.

"Good to see you Percy!" Arthur struggled for breath, relieved when his friend let him go to hug Leon. Gwaine was watching Percival with narrowed eyes.

"Is that...is that a _goatee_?" he asked. Percival crossed his arms, studying Gwaine for a moment.

"Nice _manbun_," he retorted, clearly pleased with himself. Gwaine gasped, patting the small ball of hair that touched the nape of his neck self-consciously.

"Excuse you, but I look marvelous. You on the other hand, look like a bloody farmer! Or a white supremacist!" Percival chuckled, shaking his head as he slowly approached Gwaine.

"I've missed you too." Percival pulled Gwaine in for a hug, whose playful scowl eased into a silly grin.

"So," Leon spoke after giving the two a moment. "Let's see it."

Arthur frowned, puzzled by the three pair of eyes staring expectantly at him. Gwaine made a wild gesture.

"The tattoo, you twat!" Arthur flipped Gwaine off while undoing the buttons on his shirt with one hand. A few suggestive whistles cut through the air, causing Arthur to grin cheek to cheek as he bared his right shoulder. His friends moved closer to him, gazing at his shoulder in complete awe.

Having lied to Uther about his summer plans, Arthur had begun loving the idea of going behind his father's back. The purpose of the tattoo wasn't entirely in spite of Uther, though. It was an extension of Arthur, as natural and vital as the blood in his veins.

Girls huddled together, eyeing Arthur up and down shamelessly. He couldn't deny it. He loved the attention. Percival whistled.

"That's some brilliant work, Pendragon." The other boys nodded along. Arthur put his hands out in front of him.

"Boys boys, that's enough checking out for today." Arthur chided playfully, fastening up his shirt and fixing the collar.

"Emrys!" Gwaine shouted, calling over the pale raven-haired boy who was escorting a ravishing Morgana Pendragon by his side. Merlin's expression transformed from pensive to a boyish amusement at the sight of Gwaine. When his sapphire gaze met Arthur's, his smile widened.

"Emrys."

"Pendragon." Merlin laughed, pulling Arthur in for a hug. "You look good...less like a royal prat than usual," he whispered in Arthur's ear. "Did art school loosen you up?"

Arthur pulled away, ruffling up Merlin's hair. It was longer now, a mop of unruly black hair.

"Isn't it just terrible?" Morgana stepped into view, her jade eyes glaring at Merlin's head.

"Your sister is the most high maintenance girl I've ever met," Merlin joked, giving Arthur a rather amusing look of despair.

"That's Morgana alright," Arthur said with a coy smile. "I don't believe she's missed a hair appointment since she was five." Morgana flipped her shoulder length curls to one side and arched a perfect brow at her brother.

"Yes, coming from an eighteen year old who still doesn't know how to do his own bloody laundry."

Merlin laughed, clearly enjoying this conversation, and wrapped an arm around Morgana's waist. Arthur noticed the crowd beginning to move slowly towards the iron double door entry to the school. Suddenly, Arthur was struck by the thought this was the beginning of the end of his time at Albion Prep. In a year, he'd be either heading off to some ivy league university on a fencing scholarship, or he'd abandon his family name and pursue art. _No pressure_.

Arthur and his friends made it halfway across the courtyard when Morgana let out a girlish squeal.

"Gwen!"

His body thrummed at the sound of her name. _Guinevere_. The love of Arthur's life. Arthur watched Morgana run up to Gwen, whose chocolate curls now reached all the way down her spine. She squealed back and threw her arms around Morgana, accidently meeting Arthur's gaze.

Arthur quickly looked away, embarrassed. He didn't want Gwen to think he was still pining for her. He was Arthur bloody Pendragon. _He was the king_. No girl, no matter how beautiful, was going to steal his heart this year.

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_I always love to hear your thoughts so please leave a review =) I know this was short but I wanted to set you up! I promise I shall update by some point next week with a longer chapter. Can you guess what Arthur's new sexy tattoo is? xo_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello love, I apologize for the late update. I lot of stuff has gone down this past month and I've been a mess. Today I found some inspiration so hopefully I can update more regularly. Thank you for the follows and kind words. Enjoy =)_

* * *

Morgana was lounging in her favorite window seat of the library, gazing dreamily out of the leaded glass window, when a terrible _thump_ brought her back to reality. Gwen fanned out her arms dramatically.

"Look what I've found!" Morgana leaned over to read the cover and groaned. It was a GSCE Higher Level Maths Practice Exam book, and even thinking the word "exam" made Morgana want to run and hide.

"Oh don't look so down," Gwen said. "Complete a few problems everyday and you'll do amazing. We can even make up little practice tests for each other it'll be fun!"

The look on Morgana's face must have been one of pure horror because Gwen laughed, settling herself beside Morgana and throwing her arms around her friend.

"There is something very disturbing about your idea of fun," Morgana said, stiff in Gwen's embrace.

"At least you're not taking seven advanced level subjects this year." Gwen stood and began to pace, nibbling on her fingers. Morgana sat up crossing one leg gracefully over the other.

"How are you even alive?" she asked, marveling over the petite girl with a brain the size of a bloody continent. Gwen stopped pacing, placing two hands firmly on either hip.

"Enough about school and our futures for the moment. Tell me something juicy!" She raised one eyebrow, smiling coyly at Morgana.

"Hm...juicy...well I heard Isolde had a threesome with two boys in the lacrosse team."

"Good," Gwen validated. "Tell me something else."

Morgana twirled a curl around her finger, searching for any gossip she'd heard over the summer. She wasn't very in the loop, having spent two full months in Fiji on a youth community service program. Uther told her it looked very good on applications. When Morgana returned home in August, she barely had time to rest. Merlin made sure of that...

"I heard Gwaine and Mithian broke up," Gwen offered. Morgana shot up from her lounging position, jade eyes wide.

"No!" Gwen nodded, looking a little pleased with herself.

"Leon told me. Apparently Mithian was seeing someone in Paris and didn't tell Gwaine about it."

Morgana scoffed, crossing her arms with intention.

"What a bitch!" Gwen sighed, rolling her liquid brown eyes.

"Now Gwaine is back to his old ways. I saw him hitting on a first year that looked twelve years old."

Morgana scrunched up her nose in disgust. She pulled out her mobile, checking the time.

"I have to stop by the school store before the period ends. Lunch?" Gwen smiled, and they kissed each other on both cheeks before Morgana strutted away, admiring gazes following her out the door.

* * *

Leon swore under his breath when the bell rang. Physics was already kicking his arse and it was only the first day. His mood brightened when he saw Percival waiting outside for him.

"Rough class?" Percival asked playfully, but his eyes revealed his concern. Leon shrugged it off.

"It's whatever. I don't really care anyway if I do well or not." He pretended not to notice the strange look he was getting from his best friend. There was a time when Leon put a lot of effort into getting good grades. It always pleased his father and there was nothing like feeling his father's golden approval. But none of that mattered anymore.

"How was Switzerland?" Leon asked, wanting to shift the conversation. Percival slowed his pace, walking in a comical rhythm.

"I met someone."

"When you say _someone_, do you mean a _guy _someone?" Percival grinned, and Leon couldn't help his astonishment. For so long Percival denied his sexuality, until finally confiding in his best friend. But even those conversations were always awkward and sad. Now Percival talked proudly, and Leon suddenly realized why his friend looked so different to him earlier that morning. There was something more relaxed about him, genuine and _open_.

"That's great!" Leon said, amicably punching Percival in the arm.

"I know. Henry taught me there's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm still me, but now I don't have to pretend anymore. I'm a raging homosexual and I bloody love it!" Both friends erupted into a fit of laughter.

"What about Gwaine?" Leon asked after catching his breath. Percival shrugged.

"I let him go. There's no use pining after someone who will never want me. I'm with Henry now, and I'm actually happy for once, so why ruin it with old feelings?"

Leon clasped a hand on Percival's shoulder.

"Glad to hear it mate. So...does this mean you're coming out?" Percival chuckled a bit nervously.

"I suppose so. There's no good in hiding it anymore."

"Well, I'm proud of you mate." They shared a smile, a knowing smile they shared for many years.

"So! Tell me about your summer," Percival inquired. Leon swallowed, feeling a flicker of panic.

"Why, what did you hear?" Percival laughed, giving Leon a questioning look.

"Nothing...why, do you have something to tell me?" Leon shrugged, feigning indifference.

"No-well as you know my parents got divorced so I was drinking a lot." Leon hoped Percival would buy it and drop his suspicion. Percival patted Leon's back sympathetically.

"Well, it's understandable. I'm sure these past few months have been hard for you. I'm sorry I wasn't there, mate."

"You're here now," Leon said, grateful his fake explanation was convincing enough. Well, none of it was a lie but it wasn't the _real _reason Leon was afraid Percival had heard something. Ironically, his secret was walking towards them, her posse trailing behind.

"Woah," Percival gaped. "Is that _Vivian_? I barely recognized her with that hair." Leon winced, regretting his decision to look at her. She caught his gaze and quickly averted her eyes, her cheeks flushing an adorable shade of pink.

Leon forced those haunting images to leave his mind. But they weren't a _bad _kind of haunting. They were exciting, dizzying, arousing...

"She pulls off brunette," Percival mused. Leon made a noise of agreement, breathing deeply to slow down his wild heartbeat.

* * *

Merlin was rounding the corner of the west wing, flipping through his Trigonometry textbook when a familiar laugh caught his attention. A few feet ahead of him stood Arthur, one hand propped against the wall for support as he chatted flirtatiously with a girl. She was listening to him with that starry-eyed gaze all of the girls got because he was _Arthur bloody Pendragon_. Merlin couldn't hide the smirk on his face. Arthur sensed his presence and grinned, touching the girl's shoulder before striding towards him.

"Emrys! What's up man?" Merlin clasped his textbook shut.

"Nothing fun unfortunately. You on the other hand..." Merlin snuck a glance at the girl staring shyly in their direction. Arthur followed Merlin's gaze and smiled at her, swinging an arm over Merlin's shoulder as they walked away.

"She's cute, eh? I was thinking I'd invite her to the bonfire this Friday."

"I'm sure that would make her day-actually probably make her year." Arthur flashed an arrogant smile.

"I do live to please people." Merlin chuckled at the blonde, rolling his eyes.

"So how goes it with my sister?" Arthur asked. Merlin ran his fingers through his hair, making it even more disheveled.

"Pretty great honestly. I wasn't sure I could handle a relationship this long but it's really not that hard. Morgana is so independent I find myself wanting to spend more time with her." Arthur grinned.

"You're the clingy girlfriend, Emrys." Merlin laughed and nudged Arthur's side.

"Piss off."

Arthur walked down the hall with a confident swagger, smiling at girls left from right.

"My father still doesn't like the two of you together." Merlin shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, which looked coolly defiant with his uniform. Arthur assumed that was the look he was going for.

"Because I'm poor. _I know_." Arthur shook his head.

"Not just that. He has a whole bloody file on you. He knows about all the crazy shit you've pulled over the years."

Merlin clenched his jaw. He didn't like Uther Pendragon snooping around in his past. But all Uther had on Merlin were the fights in school...right? Merlin's moment of fear was interrupted by a playful shove from Arthur.

"Don't worry, Emrys. Morgana won't let Uther interfere. She's stubborn as hell and for some reason madly in love with you."

Merlin grinned, tripping Arthur who quickly retaliated. Arthur then made a run for it and Merlin chased him. People moved out of the way as the boys laughed and swore wildly down the halls.

* * *

Guinevere's feet ached as she made her away across the courtyard. It was only the first day of classes and already she was terribly exhausted. But it was a good kind of exhaustion. Despite all of the stress, all of the work, Guinevere knew it would all pay off when she'd get into Oxford.

In July, Guinevere visited Oxford. She remembered feeling pure awe at the sight of the six hundred year old Bodleian Library. Just the thought of studying in there made Guinevere want to squeal and skip in circles. But Gwen knew that to get to Oxford, she'd have to focus on work. _Just work_. She wouldn't distract herself with boys like last year. It only brought chaos and pain.

Gwen had nearly approached the steps when she spotted Arthur out of the corner of her eye, whispering into a girl's ear. She quickly tore her eyes away, jogging down the steps with determination. Why should she care if Arthur had moved on? It was sure about time. After their break up last year, Arthur still stared at her with so much longing it made her want to cry. No matter how much space Gwen had wedged between them, Arthur still wanted her. _And I still wanted him_.

Guinevere shook her head of these thoughts, forcing herself to envision Oxford. That was all that mattered. Arthur Pendragon meant nothing to her.

* * *

_I know this wasn't as long as I promised. I'm still setting up new plot lines. I have a good feeling about next chapter, and it's going to be longer. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Xo_


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